View-finder.



C. F. SPEIDEL.

VIEW FINDER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 23. 1914.

Patented June 22, 1915.

\lllllllllllllllllllllllll UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE.

CHARLES E. SPEIDEL, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, A SSIGNOR' T0 EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

VIEW-FINDER.

' Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 22, 1915.

Application nice larch as, 1914. Serial No. 826,789.

. To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CHARLES F. Srnmnn, of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in View- Finders; and I do hereby declare the follow ing to be a full, clear, and exact description of thesa'me, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and to the reference-numerals marked thereon.

My present invention relates to view finders and more particularly to collapsible finders of the type disclosed in the prior United States Letters Patent to A. A. Ruttan et aL, No. 1,066,848, datedJuly 8, 1913, and it has for its object to effect an improvement of-the finder there shown whereby the parts may be readily separated and made accessible for variouspurposes but more particularly for the purpose of cleaning the reflecting -sur faces. Y

To these and other ends the invention consists in certain improvements and combinationsof parts, all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointed out in theclaims at the end of the specification. r

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a side elevation of a-view'finder constructed in accordance with and illustrating one embodiment of my invention; Fig. 2 is a front elevation thereof, both 1 and 2 showing the device in operative position;-Fig. 3 is a side elevation ofithe device in its extended or cleaning position;' Fig. 4 is aside elevation showing in full lines the device in partly folded position, illustrating the processof. detaching the parts and in dotted lines in folded posit1on,'and Flg. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially on the line 5 -5 of Fig. 4 with reference to the dotted line position of the parts.

, Similar reference numerals throughout the several figures indicate the same parts.

.w'lheparticular finder constituting the present embodiment of the invention is desu ed for use -on an ordinary hand camera "w erein exposures are made at times with the camerain normal position and-at other timeswith it held on its side in order to dispose the greater dimension-10f the field ofexposure in conformity with the greater dimension of the object, in either'of which cases he find r m t e ighted tea corre" sponding position. These functions are featured 1n the prior patent referred to so need not be explained in detail here, particularly as the present improvements relate more shown at 1 a fragment of the upright front or lens board of a camera to which is secured a finder bracket 2. This bracket has an annular portion 3 that constitutes the sole support for the finder proper by providing a journal in which rotates the front lens tube 4 having a securing cap or ring 5 at the front of the bracket. The finder may thus be shifted through an angle of 90 on the axis of its front lens6 carried in the tube 4. This is the main or field lens.

The tube and lens just described is fixed to a front lens plate 7 having rearwardly turned lateral flanges 8. A small shaft or angle mirror frame 10 is hinged-at 13-to the rear end of a frame 14that carries the top or reflecting lens 15. It is in this lens that theimage is viewed, the latter-'being-cast upon the angle mirror 11 by the front 'or field lens 6 and thence reflectedin the-lens 15 in the usual manner" fro'ni'whichit is obvious that ground glass or a similar element may be used at 15. At its forward end, the top frame 14 has laterally extending projections 16 preferably formed by the rounded ends of a'pin 17 that spans the frame. These projections cotiperate :w-ith arcuate slots 18 in the flanges 8 forming guides in which they travel. The spring-12 in actuating the angle mirror frame 10 rearwardly also through the. medium of the latter, tends to hold the top lens. frame 14 in its horizontal or operative position with the projections 16 at the tops of the slots 18, as be understood.- By pressing forwardly on the rear or hinged ends or the frames 10 and 14 (as when they meet an obstruction upon being folded Within the camera) the projections 16 are caused to travel downwardly the length of the slot and the top mirror frame 14 is folded against the front lenssupport 7 and between it and the angle mirror frame '10 which swings forwardly into substantial parallelism with the other parts. Releasing the pressure allows the.

parts to return automatically'to their former operative positions. It is, however, desirable in certain instances to separate or partially separate the three parts whereby they may be rendered more accessible as for cleaning purposes. In the practice ofmy present means whereby the chain of pivotal connection between the front lens support, angle mirror frame and top lens support may be temporarily disestablished. Preferably, the top lens support 14 is separated from the front lens support 7 so that the members may be extended in a line asin Fig. 3 and all surfaces thereof made accessible at once. To this end, in the present instance, I form in the side flanges 8 transverse channels 19 communicating with the arcuate slots 18 and leading therefrom to the rear edges of v the flanges 8. These channels may be stamped out from the material of the flanges as clearly indicated in Fig. 5 and the bottom walls 20 thereof are preferably tapered or inclined to converge toward the slots with their inner extremities closer together than the length of the pin 17 as shown in the same figure so that the rounded ends of the projections 16 extend just a fractional distance beyond them. I, also prefer to arrange the channels at the lowermost ends of the slots so the projections will be in register with them only when the finder is folded. Therefore, when it is desired to spread out the parts to the positions shown in Fig. 3, it is only necessary to fold the frames into parallelism and then exert slight rearward pressure on the forward (at that .of the projections 16 as defined by the pivot 9 and they as readily reenter the channels and snap back into their positionsin the 7 guide slots 18. .The bottoniwalls-QO oppose the entrance of the projections, to the channels only to a sufiicient extentto prevent invention, therefore, I provide inadvertent movement therein when the parts are folded which extent is obviously very little as the spring 12, in-thrustmg the angle mirror frame 10 rearwardly acts very quickly to raise the projections in the slots 18, if they are given even the smallest chance to coiiperate with the rear cam walls of the slots.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a view finder, the combination with a front lens support, of an angle mirror and a top lens support pivotallyv connected to each other and to the front lens support to assume relatively angular operative positions or substantially parallel folded positions, means normallytending to actuate theparts-to operative'positions and means for effecting disengagement of one of. the last mentioned members from the front lens support only when said member is in other than the operative position. v

2. In a view finder, the combination with a front lens support and an angle mirror pivoted thereto and adapted to fold to a sition substantially parallel therewith, o a top lens support pivoted to one of said parts at one'end and having a projection at the other and a continuous gulde on.the other part in which the said projection is arranged to travel whereby the .top lens support is caused to assume a folded position between the other parts as the angle mirror is moved toward the front lens support, said do being provided with a channel leading t erefrom and through which the projection on the top lens support may be passed to disconnect the to lens support from the guide carrying mem er.

3. In a view finder, the'combination with a front lens support-and an angle mirror pivoted thereto and adapted to fold to a position substantially parallel therewith, of

a top lens support pivoted to one of said parts at one end and having a projection at the other and a spring flange on the-,other .part provided with a continuous guide in which the said projection is arranged to travel whereby the top lens support is caused to assume a folded position between the other parts as the angle mirror is moved toward the front lens support, said guide being provided with a channel leading therefrom and formed by a depression in the spring flange having an inclined bottom wall, through which channel the projection on the top lens support may be passed to disconnectthe top lens support from the guide, ange carrying member, by deflectin the slightly to admit the passage 0 the projection from the guide into the channel.

4. In a folding view finder, the combination with a front lens sup ort having a rearwardly turned spring ange at one .side thereof, provided with a slot constituting a gulde and with a-depression constituting a channel leading from the slot or guide and parts as the angle mirror is moved toward having an inchned bottom wall, and an anthe front lens support, the rounded end of gle=m1rror pivoted at its lower end to said said pin being adapted to be forced from the I, front lens support, of a top lens support guide through the channel by slightly de- 15 5 pivoted at its rear end to the upper end of fleeting the springgflangefto disconnect the the angle mirror and having a rounded protop lens support from the front lens support. jecting pin at its front end cooperating with CHARLES F. SPEIDEL. the slot or guide on the front lens support Witnesses: whereby the top lens support is caused to HENRY L. THAYER, 10 assume a folded position between the other JOHN A. ROBERTSON. 

